output a jFrame to jpeg or bitmap

Question

I've been working on an assignment, and have all the requirements completed. The project is to compare the differences in runtime between a linear search algorithm and a binary search. I have a graph class that puts out the results of those searches in a xy graph.

The graph object is a Turtle class that extends JFrame. Is there any way I can convert that graph object to a bitmap and save it for future printing?

The professor requires printouts of the results. Since I don't want a printout of every time the program is run, I would prefer to save the graphics results in a designated folder, rather than using screen-grab.

Unfortunately, I haven't come up with any answers on Google or here. Is something like this even possible?

Answer 1

Another approach is to tell your Component to paint() itself into a BufferedImage, as seen in this complete example. The Container returned by a JFrame's getContentPane() method is suitable. In summary:

Component component = f.getContentPane();
BufferedImage image = new BufferedImage(…);
component.paint(image.getGraphics());
ImageIO.write(image,…);

Answer 2

You can pass the bounds of the area into the Robot.createScreenCapture(Rectangle) method to create a BufferedImage of the area. The easiest way to save the screenshot as an image file is to use the ImageIO class.